Fowl time « Me, myself and irony

Fowl time

05Aug09

It took us a few weeks, but after hunting about on the net and avoiding some strangely cold-hearted locals*, we tracked down our new friends. Being left with a rather small flock (hmm, collective term for chickens..?) of 3 with Tairrie’s departure back in May, the time had come to introduce some fresh feathered friends to our little Pekins. At least, that was the intention – friends, that is. I was aware of chickens’ need to sort out a hierarchy, the much spoken of “pecking order”… but watching the battle in action was not comfortable viewing (or listening!). What better time for hubby to disappear off for a long weekend at a metal festival in Finland!? By the time he returned, I had some of them eating out of my hand – literally – and after 2 weeks, the feathers aren’t flying quite so frequently.

They’re all Orpington hens, and at about 20 weeks old, still have some growing to do. We needn’t have worried that our little flock might take a bashing from the giant sized newcomers, however – the pint-sized Pekins have proved that they are more than capable of looking out for themselves, and aren’t taking any nonsense. I’m not sure that a peck to the face or feathers pulled from the tail are really the most traditional or appropriate ways of welcoming a guest into your home, but clearly things are done very differently in the chicken world…

Carmen is the most timid of the Orpis, but really rather pretty:

Suzi has a slightly fierce look about her, when in reality, she’s always happy to see us:

Veronica – my choice. I love her feather pattern and pretty brown and amber eyes – and she is shaping up to be a properly big Orpington, she’s already so heavy:

Debbie is probably the youngest as she’s still quite small, and so far seems to be an absolute sweetheart:

I can’t wait to see them grow into their feathers and fatten up properly, they’re going to be so cuddly – but I need to work out how to hug them without claws scrabbling into my belly. I found out the hard way that they’re painfully sharp and on the end of surprisingly strong legs…

*We asked at a show about getting some young Orpingtons, and a lady suggested we hatch some eggs. When I said we’d rather not do that as it’s likely we’d get a lot of cockerels – no good for us on the edge of a town with neighbours etc – she just made a slit-throat motion with her hand… Am I weird for not wanting to breed pets to kill!? I don’t think so.